Possession
by GoddessdeFire
Summary: Hitomi has returned home and unknowingly possesses something quiet dear to her. Too bad she’s not the only one who wants it and Zaibach’s chasing her down for it, even if she has to die.
1. Default Chapter

Ok, this is the first chapter of my most recent fanfic, woo. I'm planning on having 1, maybe 2 more chapters after this then you all can decide if I should continue or not. I hate this first chapter though, kind of sappy, but I have to get it out of the way to continue the story. This is some of the very little you'll read of Allen and Van. Read and Enjoy!

Disclaimer: As all of you know, I don't own Escaflowne.

Possession

Prologue

* * *

Fire, every creature, every plant, every soul was caught in a blazing fire. Bright and wicked flames danced across fields in seconds, gaining and gaining with each unnatural stride. The inferno reached the stars, mercilessly trying to reach them and tear them down from the sky through the clouds of billowing black smoke.

Hitomi Kanzaki stood in a daze in the fog of toxic smoke, somehow unharmed and managing to make out the guymelef shaped figures; their darkened shadows ripped down the enemies in front of them, regardless of the countries they were serving. As long as the person in front of them was considered an enemy, they would die from their battle-ridden hands without guilt.

Screams of the dying and of the soldiers charging chaotically towards one another filled the air like the fire and smoke. _Hell?_ Hitomi thought absent mindedly. An abnormal cackling filled her senses. "Burn! Burn!" The voice screeched with heart and soul out over the hundreds of fighting war cries and dying whispers, whispers of husbands and father, wishing their wives and children good fortune and happiness without their presence in life.

Her eyes widened in panicked fear as the thoughts conjugated in her skull._. . . Dilandau . . . Zaibach's attacking again!_

"Van!" She cried out,experiencing extreme dread. "Van!"

"Hitomi!" A familiar voice asked worriedly, comforting the girl instantly.

She shot up, suddenly awakened by panic and a common voice, with sweat clinging to her fair skin and soaking her short blond locks. A young man sat on the bed beside her with concern written all over his face, his coarse hands were on her frail shoulders subconsciously.

"Hitomi are you ok?" His chocolate-blood colored eyes searched her face for an answer.

She panted in a hazed state and slid her warm and wet arms around his waist, leaning into his chest and smelling his scent before gathering herself. "Hitomi." He said silkily, softening his features and holding onto her tightly after a hesitant pause.

"…A vision." She whispered into his stomach, she knew Van had heard her muffled words, she felt the young king tense in her grasp. _A holocaust,_ her mind corrected.

"Of what?" He asked sternly, reminding Hitomi of the way he spoke to the foreign diplomats during the peace negotiations of Gaia.

"Zaibach." She paused, almost not wanting to finish her summary of her vision. Though she knew she had to, Van and the others had gone through enough.

"Another nightmare of them?" He cooed softly in the silence. "I'm so sorry," his grasp gripped her tighter with assurance; "I'll never let them have you again. I promise."

Van's words invoked the memories Hitomi had of her recent stay at Zaibach. She had indeed been captured by Zaibach in the course of the resolution of the war. Vionne, with its numerous cold halls and militant milieu, that's where they had hid her. The Seers room had luckily not been a dungeon cell, but a simple, guarded guest room which buzzed with death.

Her face flushed from all the shocking events that had happened aboard that floating mass. Hitomi was glad she had her head bowed, to conceal her creeping blush and tears from Van. Her kidnapping had only fueled the fury of Van. With his vigor, he had assisted in leading a group in to rescue her when she was about out of hope.

Van's allies converged, sacrificing some of their peace treaties with Zaibach (even though Zaibach had broken most of the treaties first). The defending nations came together to fight the warring nations' outrageous ideologies and save their ways of life. Zaibach's enemies managed to defeat them, winning Gaia's world war. It had been difficult, treacherous, and painful for all.

Hitomi had been lucky enough to avoid most of that, of course, when Asturia managed to bring the floating fortress down with the rescue team and her still in it, she had felt to be right in the midst of it all. Though the team did escape in the end, she was transported to a safe location where Merle awaited, full of demanding questions about her Van. He chose to stay back and avenge his nation, his dead home.

During the course of these thoughts, the young king rocked Hitomi as she clutched onto him. He mentally kicked himself for reminding her of her kidnapping, apparently something had happened that had distressed her, but he hadn't asked yet, he couldn't.

A sniff pulled back the contents of her runny nose, Hitomi slowly pulled away from him with her head still down. _Why am I taking so long to tell him the vision?_ She wondered, but she knew the answer and she pushed that fact deep into her mind to hopefully forget.

"Van…" her voice sounded groggier than she realized. He waited for her reply in a mute state.

"I didn't have a dream, it was a vision, I'm sure of it. I saw…fire, a big battle-Van! Dilandau's coming back!" Her raised voice cut fiercely through the silence.

She didn't miss his short gasp and look of surprise. Her green eyes stared up at him through water, pleading that he'd understand that she was telling the truth.

"Hitomi…" She immediately recognized his tone of skepticism,

"-No! It wasn't a dream, I know you think it was, but it wasn't!" She pleaded loudly.

He glanced over his shoulder, seeing if anyone was waking up due to the volume of her voice. "Look, you've been through a lot the past few days, who's to say that wasn't a dream?"

"I can tell the difference between a dream and a vision, Van." She coldly spat out.

"Obviously something happened to you and you're not thinking right!" He said with increasing frustration.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me!" she cried.

Van snapped. "Why should I believe a fucking diluted girl?"

Hitomi's brown knitted together quickly and she could see Van look away, he hadn't meant to say that, but it had come out anyway.

"Did you just call me a 'fucking diluted girl'?"

"Oh come on, I'm not the only one's that's noticed. You've been off since your abduction."

The Mystic Moon girl sat quietly, beginning to feel the cool chill of the wind through her open window and the heat of her tears steadily falling down her face.

"I don't know what happened to you and it's not like you're telling us!" He added after glancing at her pitiful lack of self-control.

"Van, you have no right to say _anything _like that to me, do you understand that?" She screamed.

"Do you understand that the war's over? How about that Zaibach is no more? And Dilandau? He's an innocent girl; a semi- eccentric and slow, innocent girl, but still harmless either way!" Van roared.

"I'm just telling you what I saw!"

"And I'm saying it was a dream." His voice became oddly calm as he stood and paced the floor.

"But it wasn't!" She shrieked, her plea piercing through the air.

"What's going on?" Allen commanded, loosing his knightly composure at four a.m. in the morning. He hovered right outside the door which stood slightly ajar. He wasn't going to knock; he could hear that something was unmistakably going down.

"Van thinks I'm crazy!" Hitomi bawled out as she hid her face in her hands. _Why are my friends backstabbing me?_, her mind screamed out.

The majestic knight visibly cringed behind the door, he remembered ordering Van to not speak of that to her. "Now Hitomi," he said calmly with practiced charm, "I'm sure he didn't mean it." He shot Van a heated glare as he entered the room and pulled a chair near her bedside. "Tell me why you'd say that so early in the morning, Van."

The two adolescents in the room were dead quiet; Van began walking to the door, ignoring their gazes. His messy, raven-colored hair turned the corner, leaving a perplexed Hitomi to Allen's verbal comfort.

He strode down the empty hallway, picking up speed. _I wish I knew what they did to her_, was all he could think. The draconian intentionally walked out in the middle of a conversation; he couldn't stand to be in that room any longer. She had changed; she changed right when he was beginning to feel affection for her.

The young man sighed, staring up at the sky; he saw the garden and walked into it. The cool breeze ruffled his hair as he sat down on a cold stone bench, his sleepy gaze on the Mystic Moon. _What if she had never come here?_ He wondered. He knew that answer, he would be dead. _I owe her my life and my people, but I can't believe her. Hell, I can barely look at her without wishing I could have her. She could so easily fool me and maybe that's why Zaibach wanted her._

He turned around to glance at her unlocked window. Instead he caught sight of a pillar of light taking her away from him without an apology or a goodbye kiss. His ruby-brown eyes widened as he screamed, "Hitomi!" and heard it echo off the walls of the courtyard as he began racing through the halls to her room. _Hitomi! Hitomi, I love you!_


	2. homeBOUND

I meant to update this a few weeks ago…apparently I didn't. So here it is now. I've had a few people already wonder about the relationship between Van and Hitomi, and there's only been 1 chapter! As you can see, this story is not in the "romance" genre at the moment. It is in the genre titled "Tragedy/Drama", of course, this story is just beginning so as it continues the genre will change a little. And drama can easily include a love/hate relationship. Anyway, I hope that clears up that question for now (that was soo vague!). Hey, everyone please remember, "mace" is in "romance" for a reason. And soon, you will all understand what that means.

Goddess-Hitomi: Well…hm, yes I guess it is safe to say this story will have some romance.

Bradybunch4529: Heh, sorry for the late update, hopefully I won't be doing that again.

f-zelda: Yay! Finally someone who noticed Van's temper! I didn't know if I had made him too out of character or not. My comment about the Hitomi/Van relationship is in the author note.

awal: You're damn right I know who this is! You know me far too well, of course they'll suffer, but the end is only for me to know.

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne.

Possession

home BOUND

_

* * *

_

_Hitomi! Hitomi, I love you!_

Hitomi shut her eyes tightly, dreading the painfully bright light which seared through the thin flesh of her eyelids. It had blinded her the first few times and now it seemed that it would blind her once more. She held her breath as she felt her weight shift up gradually, then weightlessness, then slowly moving down, suddenly heavier than she remembered being.

She felt smooth ground under her feet as she was lowered and she gained more and more of her weight onto her feet. The column of light dimmed around her, retreating into space with a dull shimmer. She rubbed her eyes with effort, the night had managed to wear her out, and too many bad events happening at once can do that to a person.

The teenaged girl gained her vision back bit by bit. Her green eyes -half closed- took in her surroundings. It was evening, just sunset in a park that looked faintly familiar. She didn't dwell on that thought too much though, her mind told her to look up at the sky. She focused on finding the moons in the sky.

A white orb with crevices, turned pink-orange from the setting ball of fire, floated lonely in the sky, unaccompanied by a sphere of green vegetation, blue seas, and white atmosphere.

"The Mystic Moon." She muttered, already accustomed to the words.

Hitomi soon realized she was wearing only a large damp nightshirt, lacking: a bra, a skirt, socks and shoes. "Great, the police might arrest me before I even find my way home." She grumbled, wanting to reach home.

She took in the sight of the park to establish her bearings. Her house never had a good view of the sunset, it always captured the morning dawn though. The girl began walking away from the sunset, onto a sidewalk with bare feet, constantly looking around in fear of being arrested for indecency.

A car stopped letting her breeze over the road. Hitomi crossed her arms over her chest as she quickly walked, almost running, across the street. She could feel the eyes of the inhabitants of the vehicle staring at her oddly, probably curious if she was homeless or an escaped mental patient.

Green orbs glanced at the people in the seats of the four door car; three teenaged boys stared at her in an interested and rude manner. Hitomi remembered those boys from her school and they were not her friends in any way. She sighed, _looks like I'll be dealing with rumors on the Mystic Moon already. _She wanted to ask them what was so damn intriguing, but she felt compelled to get home, take a bath, and perhaps even try and forget all the pain Gaia had brought to her.

Her mind was full of jumbled thoughts. _Is Van right? Am I crazy?_ Her strides greatened as she reached her street, the very road which held her house around that corner with her family waiting. _…My family, what do I tell them? That I ran into a king, went to a foreign and unaccounted for planet, and witnessed a world war? Yeah, that'll work, great thinking 'tomi girl!_ she thought, resisting the urge to slap herself.

The streetlamps began to flicker on, filling the darkening void of night. She ran a hand through her hair, attempting to comb it out to appear somewhat presentable. Only two more houses and then she'd turn that corner to see her home.

_Home…it used to be where Van was_, she sighed deeply, _but it seems he doesn't like me anymore so how could I honestly call his presence my home?_ She bit back tears as she felt her face tingle, wanting to release all of her bottled up emotions in salty, transparent streams. _I just need to forget about him and move on, _she thought, knowing that may never happen.

The tired and emotionally drained psychic rounded the corner, she looked up at her house with anticipation; her heart practically skipped a beat when she saw the sign in her yard. Her eyes widened…large, diagonal red letter said: SOLD.

Her mouth dropped open a little, why hadn't she Seen this coming? Was she really loosing her visions?

There was no car in the driveway and by now, all the street lamps were on and the night sky was black with a few jeweled stars embedded in it, but no Gaia, no Van, and no home. Even though the home belonged to another, Hitomi couldn't resist the urge to stroll up the empty driveway with tears prickling and winning the battle, spilling over in triumph down her flustered cheeks and over her gaping, chapped lips.

She stumbled up the front steps, banging a toe on the top step as she glided to the front door in a dream-like state. The young Seer barely noticed the stinging pain as her sparkling, red-rimmed emerald eyes discerned a light from inside the house.

"Hello?" she called out, wincing at the sound of her shaky voice.

There was a slight rustle of clothing, a bang of a cabinet door against a kitchen frame, and quick footsteps. Hitomi thought hopefully, _Mamoru?_

A boy with similar physical features undecidedly approached the door. "Mamoru!" Hitomi cried with her arms outstretched as she rushed to the door and opened it, then locked her shocked looking brother in a tight squeeze.

"H-Hitomi?" he stuttered out, unsure if he was dreaming about the girl hugging him or not.

"Mamoru," called out a worn-out woman "Who's at the door?" The woman came out from a room, nearing the door with each slow step, her eyes cast down on the floor which needed sweeping and a roll of duct tape was pushed up on her arm. Dark bags under her eyes signified little sleep, if any, and her graying hair was pulled back in a loose bun with apparent lack of strength.

The two children paused in the doorway and stared at the wearied woman. She took her unfocused and hazy stare off the unclean floor and looked up at Hitomi, who was still clutching onto her younger brother. "Mamoru, who's your friend there?" She asked with restrained disgust as she took in the raggedy appearance of the teenaged girl standing in his snug grip.

"Mom, you know her!" He said, recovering from the unexpected arrival of Hitomi. The woman's eyes bored into the eyes of her daughter and slowly, but surely, found recognition.

"Oh, God!" she yelled, suddenly finding hidden energy and reaching Hitomi hurriedly to embrace her once-lost daughter. "Look at you! You're here!" her laughter filled the air as she grabbed her daughter and son, holding onto both of her children with all of her might, assuring herself that they were indeed with her and safe.

"Hitomi!" tears sprang joyously from Mrs. Kanzaki's eyes, "Oh my dear, dear Hitomi! Where were you?" She screamed, releasing the two for a second to let them breath as she waiting impatiently for an answer. "You tell me where you were! Are the rumors true? Did you run off with some boy?"

"Uh…", was all Hitomi could muster out to say. _We didn't exactly run, we were taking up by a light to a different world._

"Hitomi," the tears were changing from happy exuberance to angry comprehension on the tired woman's face, "I demand an answer, young lady!"

The girl looked into Mamoru's eyes, hoping to find a proper response. Her younger brother stared back, anger barely showing through, he was amazed to have his missing sister back with them.

"Oh no, you are not going to even try and cover for her, Mamoru, go to your room and finish packing!" Mrs. Kanzaki's rigid index finger pointed up the stairs, indicating that his room was back there and needing his immediate attention. The boy audibly smacked his lips as he stomped up the bare stares to some extent. He obviously had wanted to hear Hitomi's response first-hand.

"Uh, mom," Hitomi asked softly, causing her mother to turn and stare at her, "can I just take a shower first?"

"Yes, that does sound like a good idea," she stated, " but keep in mind, you're going to tell me where you went and you're going to tell me the truth." Her mother reached into a cardboard box and pulled out a thin, pink towel, "Here, take this and try to conserve some water."

"Yes ma'am." The teenaged girl said over her shoulder, already halfway up the stairs with the towel held to her chest. She was beginning to feel bound to her family like before, restricted but loved.

She went into the unlit bathroom, finding the act of flicking a switch almost alien to her. The bright light flooded the small bathroom and she found a towel rack where she hung the pastel colored fabric on. Her hands went to the two facets and she twisted the right knob, it brought warm water cascading from the unkempt metal spout.

_Running water, what a luxury! _She pulled up on the metal piece protruding from the top, a brief splutter of water splashed and then it bounded lively from the showerhead. Hitomi pulled off her shirt, which actually belonged to Van. With that fact in her head, she tossed the cloth viciously against the door and found utter satisfaction when it smacked the wooden door harshly with a loud thump.

"Hitomi?" Her mother's worried voice called from downstairs.

"I'm ok mom!" she yelled quickly, sliding off her underwear and slipping into the cataract of warm water.

It rushed over her and she felt her tense muscles relax; a smile crept over her face. _Van never had a real shower like this_, she thought smugly. Her hands grabbed a small bottle of shampoo that was unpacked and squeezed a dime-sized drop into her hands. She worked up a rich lather, sighing softly as the water rinsed through her darkened honey colored locks. Hitomi blindly found the soap and began the task of completing her bath. She couldn't help but wonder why the house was in boxes and why her mother hadn't called her dad to come home early from work. _Maybe she's calling him now, oh, I can't wait to see him! _Her thoughts began to wander. Those idle thoughts soon finding memories of Van, all of those moments of no commitment and warmth. Even after finishing the act of bathing she stayed under the steady stream. She lingered in the heated liquid, just like her thoughts of Van lingered in her bewildered mind.

A knock came from the door jarring her from a particularly good memory of the two. "Uh, yes?" she asked politely.

"I told you to conserve water! Don't you think that you can hide in that bath tub all night!"

"Yes ma'am." The girl said, leaning over to turn off the shower with regret clearly written all over her features. But who or what was the regret for?

With the cold air rushing around her, she snatched the towel and threw it around her shoulders as she sat hunched over on the rim of the bathtub. She dried herself off and secured the towel under her arms. She exited the bathroom, leaving it with stream swirling through the air. Hitomi didn't want to speak with her mother yet; during the shower she had still failed to come up with a plausible excuse. Though, her damp hair and body did need to be clothed.

"Mom." She called from the upstairs hallway.

Mrs. Kanzaki came out of her old room and handed her daughter some of her regular clothing. Hitomi took the clothes with a small smile._ It's been a while since I've worn something besides my school uniform_. Her mother told her to change in her room; she went towards it to slowly change and began trying to think of a good enough lie for her future interrogation.

_What do I say? I guess…I should tell them the truth, they are my family. I wonder why we're selling the house, _Hitomi thought to herself.

She ended up wearing a long-sleeved, cotton sleep shirt with matching pants. A yellow and blue pattern of stars, moons, and dragons decorated the soft fabric. _Of all the pajamas I have, she had to chose this one_, she considered with slight revulsion. After setting the last sapphire blue button in place, the teenager trudged into the hallway and towards her parents' room, guessing her mother would be there.

The girl was correct and found Mrs. Kanzaki taping shut a few small boxes. She stood and motioned for Hitomi to sit on the bed after discovering her presence in the room. The woman pulled up a chair and frowned at her daughter sitting on the edge of the bedin apparent distress.

"Ok, tell me where you went." she demanded calmly.

Hitomi blinked, wondering how to answer the question, all of her excuses suddenly fleeing her memory bank. "I…"

"You…?"

"I went to Gaia." she said faintly, not daring to look at her mother.

"Gaia? What's this _Gaia_?"

"It's a world…" There was a wavering stillness as Hitomi could feel the anger level rise in front of her.

"So, Gaia is some type of drug house? Or even a sleazy club? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" yelled Mrs. Kanzaki as she stood and took a step closer to her daughter.

"No, mom, it's not like that!" Was the weak reply of the blond girl.

"Oh, then tell me what Gaia is, tell me where it is!"

"It's…"

A slight thump was heard from outside the door along with a whispered curse. The woman cocked her eyebrow and impatiently paced to the door and jerked it open. Mamoru looked up guiltily at his mother with fear. "What are you doing here? I told you to go finish packing! Go and do what I've told you! And I don't know who you've been hanging out with to learn that word, but you better not say it again!" shouted the tired woman; tonight was a stressful night for her.

"Now, as you were saying." she stated, returning somewhat calmly to her seat.

"Mom! I'm telling you the truth, I had a vision and it came true. It was about a boy king from another world with dragons and giant robots. There was a war and I played a pretty big role in defeating the nation that was trying to take over the world!"

"Oh Hitomi," came the dismayed mutter from the chair's occupant, "You've been gone for three months and you expect me to believe that? Just tell me the truth."

"I am. I'm the wing goddess."

Her mother sighed, seeing the truthful expression on Hitomi's face. Mrs. Kanzaki's mother had spoken of a similar journey, but that was different. Her mother's voyage had only been a bedtime story. "I'm going to make an appointment with a psychiatrist for you later this week."

"I'm not crazy-"

"Honey, I don't think you can determine that right now."

Hitomi closed her eyes, resisting the urge to scream out that she wasn't lying. _Calm down. Calm down 'tomi girl. It'll be ok, just ask her some questions and we'll find a way out of this, we always do._

"Can I ask you some questions?" the girl looked up at her mother with watering eyes.

"I think you should really get some sleep. I put some sheets on your bed so you can sleep there tonight."

"No mom, tell me why there are boxes everywhere." She got a glance at the digital clock on her mother's nightstand, it read: 9:04 p.m.

"We're moving."

"But why? And where's Dad? Shouldn't he be home by now?"

The exhausted Mrs. Kanzaki bowed her head, "He left last month."

"Did he go on a business trip?"

"He wasn't on a business trip."

"Oh no, no one died did they?"

"No one died."

Hitomi paused a moment and put the pieces together. She looked over her shoulder to find her father's belongings completely out of sight. Actually, she had not seen anything that belonged to him all night. The puzzle then was solved as a few tears trickled down her cheek.

"He didn't even say goodbye to me." Hitomi cried.

Her mother moved over to the bed and held her weeping child. "He barely said goodbye to me either. He packed all of his things and I saw him drive down the street with all of it."

"Daddy…" she began to notice the empty space in the house and her heart. The lamp gave off a warm light, but it couldn't reach far enough into her heart to light up the gloomy darkness beginning to stir. Hitomi could feel her mother rocking her serenely and threatening to lull her to sleep. The fifteen year old saw the boxes and unpacked necessities through blurred eyes as she fell asleep crying in her mother's arms.


	3. rerAIL

I'm slowly starting to actually get to the story, woo-hoo! I'm thinking about raising the rating. I hope the italics don't screw any of you up. Some of it is a part of her dreams and sometimes it is her thoughts. "re-rAIL" stands for getting her life back on track, even though she's sick. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors, I don't have anyone checking over my work before I submit now.

Disclaimer: I don't Escaflowne. I'm getting sick of adding this in, it's pretty damn obvious.

Possession

re-rAIL

* * *

The young Seer didn't feel the light blanket placed over her figure by her mother. The women took a spot on the bed and stroked her daughter's hair. _Hitomi, what have you got yourself into?_

The drowsy girl slipped into a deeper state of dreaming without regret or emotion, knowing she would find peace there. There, a dream plagued her, affecting just as harshly as it would if she were awake.

_The room was a dark shade of black, practically pitch-black. It would have acquired that shade if not for the blue burning candle. The flame did not sweep through the air or sensually dance in the bleak darkness, it remained firm and tall. The small fire restrained to its' wick gave off a luminosity, casting the room in an eerie blue glow._

_Hitomi lay dazed in a small bed, uncomprehending and uncaring. Her face was turned away from the candle and door, her forehead resting against the freezing wall. A sheer black blanket was draped over the underclothing of her uniform; the long piece of cloth entwined with her slender legs._

_She wanted to tug the blanket over her more, but the cold had numbed her. Her eyes barely widened when a door opened that she had presumed to not even exist. Hitomi didn't turn around though, she was too entranced with the growing shadow accompanying hers' on the wall. The clinking steps of someone's boots entered her senses. _

_She smiled, _Van? Van would feel good now.

_The shadow became complete and Hitomi could tell that the outline of the form did not belong to her Van. _

"_My brother will never forgive me for this." A deep voice whispered, nearing her even more._

_Partially opened eyes became full green orbs, taken in by shock and thoroughly stunned. _Folken!

"_This will only hurt you for a second." He said softly, grasping her shoulders and pushing her face-first into the firm bed. _

_She screamed, hoping some soul could hear her outside the room. Her wails were stifled when she felt a hand press her face into the pillow. The large hand lessened its' grip and she heard him quietly tell her not to scream._

_The girl chose not to abide by his rules and proceeded to shriek, once again, she felt the pressure of Folkens' body transmitted through his left hand. _

"_Calm down." He coaxed, lightly stroking the back of her neck with his metallic fingers. _

_She was aware of the icy caress, and then, the stinging pain which seared through her head and all the way down to her toes. Suddenly, any coherent thoughts she had were drifting away like her hearing._

_Folkens' body, highlighted by the blue candle light, backed away, taking with it a needle held emptied between his fingers. "This is going to make your conc... be sending you..."_ _The Strategos paused, "I'm sorry… forgetting Van and…this ever happened."_

Hitomi's eyelids fluttered open and her body stiffened, sensing Folken's presence in the dark. After a minute of not moving, she soon realized that it was only a dream. Her sigh flooded the room with relief. Hitomi sat up on the bed and glanced around for her mother.

The morning dawn was peeking through the window and even though she didn't feel very refreshed from her sleep, Hitomi stood up and went to change into her regular clothing.

After slipping on a pair of faded blue jogging pants and a white shirt, she headed downstairs in search of her family.

"Move that box there."

_Oh yeah, we're moving._

* * *

Their first few weeks in their new apartment were centered on unpacking the many jam-packed boxes. Mamoru and Hitomi shared the master bedroom seeing as they had not been expecting her to return so soon. Their mother took the neighboring room and they all shared a single bathroom. The kitchen was quite petite and opened packages of plastic silverware and chopsticks littered the counters. A few dirty dishes were piled up in the sink and a load of clean dishes waited patiently in the dish washing machine for someone to stow them away in their foreign cabinets.

On the refrigerator was a white board. A list of chores and names were written under the calendar section, it lacked the word "dad'. Hitomi rested woozily against the counter across the small kitchen floor, staring at the list. She felt somewhere along the lines of mildly shitty and was not in the mood to unload and reload their dishes.

Since she'd come back home, she had felt progressively worse every few days. At least it had gotten her out of an appointment with a psychiatrist. Hitomi was pretty sure it was because two worlds had different sicknesses and her immunity was still attached to Gaea, or that was at least what her previous science teacher would have said.

Hitomi had not been back to school yet and her mother had noticed this quite quickly. So far, Hitomi had convinced her that if she went to school, she'd just get sick and be out for a week anyway.

Her ears perked up when she heard someone sliding a key into their door lock. Mamoru strolled in and dropped his backpack on their only couch and headed to the kitchen for a snack. He opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a small juice drink and drank right from the bottle.

"That's disgusting, Mamoru." Hitomi said with a little more anger than originally intended.

He shot a look at her and put the bottle down on the counter. He closed the door to the appliance and wiped his mouth with the back of his school blazers' sleeve. "I didn't want you drinking it all you pig."

Hitomi's face scrunched up in anger. She hadn't been running since her return and she was gradually loosing her toned shape. "You're the pig. You act like you've been raised in a barn."

Mamoru paused and put down his defenses. "What's up with you?"

"I just don't feel good today."

Mamoru took another sip from his drink and leaned against an opposite counter. Their feet were almost reaching the others' wall. "You haven't been feeling 'good' since you came home."

"I'm sick."

"Yeah, well most people recover after a few weeks. You've been getting slowly sicker."

Hitomi stared down at the ground with nothing to say.

The boy turned around and studied the list of chores briefly, "Go lay down, I'll do the dishes tonight sis."

"Thanks." She muttered as she walked over to their room and fell onto the lower bunk bed. Hitomi sighed heavily and wished she had grabbed an aspirin before lying down. She was so tired.

_It was dark and the only light came from the fire burning in the fire place across the room. Someone was kissing her neck brutally, she winced, now her collarbone. _

"Van_," She breathed softly, her voice fringed with sadness. _

_The body pressing on top of her moved back for a second. His hands were holding her hands above her head tightly with their fingers interlaced. The fires' burning gaze made the body a silhouette and the warm glowing light traced the outline of it. The flames blaze caught his hair and the contours of his face, reaching all the way down to his feathery eyelashes. His eyes opened and the two fires burned through her._

_Now Hitomi remembered the reason why her voice had sounded so sad. _

Hitomi practically shot up and screamed. Her tense body somehow managed to hold its position and not let her head smack against the top of the bunk. The room was dark and no fire burned within it. She sat up and tried to breathe slowly and still her accelerating heart beat.

Mamoru's soft snores relaxed her a little. She stood and glanced at the digital clock resting on Mamoru's desk. 3:18 a.m. No one had woken her up for dinner. A mild pain in her lower stomach caused her to move to the bathroom and look under the sink. Feminine hygiene products were placed in an organized manner under the counter. Her hand slightly trembled as she remembered her recent nightmare. She grasped a small container of pain reliever and took two of the white pills. Hitomi would need themin the morning.

After placing the petite bottle back in its spot, she went into the living room. Hitomi didn't want to go back to sleep. How long had she been asleep? Quite a while, yet the dream was short…She turned on the television and was glad the dream had been short. The thought of a longer version terrified her.

She found a cooking show and paid little attention to the young man preparing some type of fish dinner. A young woman assisted the chef and instantly reminded Hitomi of Yukari. Though she had been back for weeks, Hitomi had failed to call up Yukari.

Her hand was still vaguely trembling as she reached for the phone. She needed someone to talk to, someone to believe her and comfort her with the abandonment of her father. Green eyes glanced at the clock in the kitchen. 3:30, _it's now or never_, she thought sadly as her fingers found the familiar buttons and pushed them quickly.

The phone rang and by the fifth ring, Hitomi was about to lower the phone back into it's cradle.

"Hello?" a girl said sleepily.

"…Hi, Yukari," Hitomi said solemnly.

There was silence for a moment, "Hitomi?" Yukari asked in disbelief, suddenly completely awake.

"I've been gone for a while."

"Like hell I haven't realized that! Where have you been? Someone mentioned that you were back and I've tried calling you house like fifty times, why didn't you ever pick up?"

"We moved."

"Moved? When did this happen?"

"Uh, a few weeks ago, I think."

"And during all this time you haven't been able to call me?" Yukari practically screamed.

"Sorry Yukari," Hitomi was almost in tears, "they didn't have phones where I went."

The brunette was quite once more, "Ok, you've been gone almost four months. I'm your best friend and best friends tell each other stuff. Now, you gotta tell me where you went."

"You wouldn't believe me."

"No, you don't know that, try me." Yukari said seriously. Another muffled voice was speaking on Yukari's side of the phone, "It's Hitomi, night."

"Am I getting you into trouble for calling so early?"

"No, no, it's ok, now start from the beginning."

Hitomi turned off the television and told her most of what had happened on Gaea, leaving out her interest in Van. By the time she was finished it was 4:45 in the morning.

"So that's it?" Yukari laughed.

Hitomi smiled at her friends' sarcasm. "Yeah, and now my mom wants to take me to a psychiatrist. She doesn't believe me at all. She thinks I ran away with some guy and got into a gang or something."

"Well, that's a pretty heavy story 'tomi. And you did leave with a guy."

The blond laughed, "Yeah and we went and snorted so much crack, let me tell you!"

"I thought we agreed on the no-drugs thing 'tomi, I can't believe you went back on your word!" Yukari giggled.

Hitomi smiled, it had been too long since she'd laughed like this. "Now I better not see you working the street corners or anything to try and be as bad as me."

"Hey, I can't make any promises."

Both girls laughed even harder at that. "Ok you badass, I have to head off to school soon. So I'll call you later?"

"That sounds good."

"Why don't you meet up with me and Amano after school? You know the ice cream shop I'm talking about."

"Amano? Oh, I've been meaning to ask, did you decide to go after him?"

Yukari giggled sheepishly, "Yeah, we've been going out for a month or so now."

"Oh."

"You're not mad or anything, are you? I mean, you said I could pursue him, remember?"

"Yeah I remember and I'm not mad at all! I'm happy you guys are dating."

"Thanks, me too. I gotta go. I'll call you before we head out?"

"Sounds good."

"Bye, Hitomi!"

"Bye, Yukari."

Click. The dial tone rang in Hitomi's ear and she laid the receiver back down. It had been too long since she'd seen Yukari. Maybe she should go back to school soon; she'd just need to visit a doctor first.

The fluorescent kitchen lights flickered on causing Hitomi to spin around in surprise. Her mother was pulling out a frying pan and some bacon. "Good morning, Hitomi. It's nice to see you're off the phone." Her mother said with a small smile. Ever since Hitomi had been home, Mrs. Kanzaki had been sleeping better at night.

"I didn't wake you did I? I'm sorry." The girl said as she moved to stove to help her mother. "Should I get some eggs?"

"No, I think you should rest and take it easy. I set up an appointment at the doctors' office for later today. So be ready in a few hours."

Hitomi inwardly smiled. Finally, she'd begin to return to her old life. Even if that meant Van wouldn't be by her side. _It's not like he'd stay with me anyway._

"Go wake Mamoru, Hitomi, and go back to sleep. I heard you up in the middle of the night."

"I guess it's because I slept through the evening." _Yes, bury that awful dream with a more logical reason._

The teenaged girl headed to her room and lightly nudged Mamoru to get up. She lay back down and stared at the bottom of the upper bunk, not wanting to go back to sleep. Though she was a little tired and her eyelids were closed, it's not like she was going to fall asleep or anything.

She fell asleep and dreamed of nothing.

* * *

"Shit." Hitomi muttered. _I fell asleep, how could I risk that? Ah!_

She stretched and headed to the bathroom to get ready for her appointment. _Thank goodness I'm going to the doctor, I feel like throwing up. _

"Oh good, I was about to wake you up. We're leaving in about ten minutes." Her mother mentioned while passing the bathroom.

At the doctors Hitomi began to feel a little relieved. There would be no more nausea and maybe she wouldn't need to sleep so much. The dreams weren't getting better.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Kayou. How are you today Miss Kanzaki?" the doctor smiled a fake grin as she walked in. She saw the older woman sitting in a chair placed in the corner of the room. "And Mrs. Kanzaki, how are you today?" The red headed doctor shook her hand.

"Fine doctor, just wanted to make sure my little girl gets better."

"Ah, so you've been feeling a little under the weather lately Miss Kanzaki?" Dr. Kayou asked, consulting her clip board while grabbing a pair of latex gloves out of one of the many drawers.

"Yes."

She grabbed a wheeled stool and rolled over to Hitomi. "So what's been bothering you?"

Hitomi explained some of the problems she'd been experiencing; quite aware her mother was listening keenly for signs of drug use.

"Ok," Dr. Kayou checked off a few boxes on her sheet of paper, "I'd like to run some tests and see what you've got. But before that, do you urinate a lot?"

_I love personal questions like this_, Hitomi frowned. "Yes, now that you mention it."

"Ok." She said again, but more drawn out this time and concentrated on her clip board. "Let's get them done!"

"What type of tests are you going to do?" Mrs. Kanzaki asked with concern from her corner.

"I'm pretty much going to test for any bladder or indigestion infections. It's going to take a while, so if you'd like you can sit in the room or go wait in the waiting room. We also have a lot of shops outside the office if you'd like to see them."

"I think I'll stay." Mrs. Kanzaki smiled politely.

"Ok, now open your mouth, Hitomi and say _aww._"

* * *

Hitomi's forehead rested on the seat of the toilet seat. Dark circles stood out around her eyes. Sleeping was a rare luxury for her now, too many nightmares. Her shaking hand reached up and blinding flushed. She would have cried out due to the water droplets slashing up, but she felt terrible. Hitomi was always exhausted now and the regurgitation was not helping.

On her knees, she grabbed a hand towel from underneath the sink and noticed the boxes of unopened tampons. _Great, this stress has me delaying my cycle._ Lately, the urge to go back to school and get well was overwhelming. She moistened the cloth under the bath tub facet and wiped the seat clean of her bile.

The telephone began ringing and Hitomi knew she had to pick it up. Struggling to stand back up, she hobbled jadedly to the phone. Her form fell onto the couch as she grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Hitomi. It's nice to hear you, it's Dr. Kayou."

_Forget the causalities woman and get right to the point. _"Hello doctor, do you have the results?"

"Yes, now have you been taking medication that reduces pain or fevers?"

"I've been taking Advil."

"You're going to need to stop that now."

"Why?"

"Let me rephrase that, if it's a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug you're going to need to stop taking it."

Blond brows furrowed slightly together in confusion. "What?"


	4. BAd BEhaviors I

By the way…a lot of Zaibach people are alive in this story…as you read on that should be a "no shit" comment. This chapter's not as complete and long as I wanted it to be originally. But I noticed the hits and I thought it might be a little cruel of me to hide this chapter for a few more months. ¾ of it has been done for 4 or so months now…but I needed to finish that ¼. What made me finish it? "Anti-christ" by The Retrosic. So, read and enjoy.

rave264: Thanks, emotions definitely are an important part of this story.

dancegoddess: Is Hitomi pregnant? Read this chapter and maybe it might answer that question.

Possession

BAd BEhaviors I

* * *

"Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can cause birth defects and we wouldn't want that for your baby now would we?"

"WHAT!" All the color in Hitomi's face drained.

"Miss Kanzaki, it's quite obvious that you display the early symptoms of pregnancy like fatigue, morning sickness, consistent urination--have you felt any tenderness in your breasts lately?"

"No…" mumbled the girl.

"Well, you should soon, but that's to be as expected. I'm surprised you haven't moved into the heavier aspects of pregnancy yet." Dr. Kayou then was silent on her side of the line with a bright, fake smile still plastered on her face. She normally had her front desk girls call her patients, but she thought this to be a special occasion which meant she needed to obey etiquette, "Congratulations, Ms. Kanzaki!"

Hitomi's throat had decided to stop working and her mind reeled high on adrenaline. Her wide green eyes burned through the ground she stared at. She soon found her gaze resting on her pudgy belly.

"Ms. Kanzaki?"

The teenager blinked a few times and replied with a muffled whimper that sounded like a 'yes'.

"You weren't answering me. I was scared you had gone into shock! What's wrong Ms. Kanzaki? You were fully aware of the results of sexual intercourse, weren't you?"

"But I'm…I'm a virgin!"

"Do you know precisely what a virgin is, Ms. Kanzaki?"

"Yes!" Tears welled up over ivy orbs.

The red headed doctor shuffled through her desk papers, preparing herself to be the doctor that she was involved in a patient's rape or anything else of the sort. Her face was stern as she scanned over the sheets, making sure if she needed to make any legal claims before submitting the documents over to the girl. "Hitomi?" she called out sweetly, holding the forms in her hand with a red pen resting in her palm.

Hitomi barely answered with a soft, dismal moan.

"Now," Dr. Kayou's voice became very serious and stern like her face, "do you take any drugs or engage yourself in 'orgies' or attend 'raves'?"

"No, no, no!" Hitomi said in a heart breaking tone. "I don't do things like that! I'm a good girl! I would never allow myself….." her words trailed off.

_His eyes opened and the two fires burned through her._

"Do you suddenly remember when this happened?"

"Yes." The blond said solemnly, saying that word to move on so she could figure out what she needed to do next.

"Ok, I'm going to suggest you see Mr. Joseph, he's an OB/GYN doctor." The woman continued as Hitomi wrote down the information on a small notepad always kept next to the phone. They said their farewells and hung up.

Keys jingled in the apartment door knob causing Hitomi to practically scream as her mother came through the door slightly tired with a grocery bag weighing down her left arm. "Hello Hitomi dear, were you just on the phone with Yukari again?" Mrs. Kanzaki headed towards the kitchen to put away their packets of ramen and food.

"Yes." Hitomi lied softly, her back turned from the kitchen. She tore off the page attached to the notebook, wincing with every loud rip.

"Writing down plans for an outing?" she said.

"Yes, mother." She folded the paper into her front pocket and placed the pencil back on the table.

"I got a bonus today so I went and bought some sushi for us. Isn't that great, Hitomi? Having the three of us eating some nice, real food?"

She placed her fingers on the cover of the notebook. _Four of us_, Hitomi corrected mentally as a few tears slipped down onto the phone stand, staining the pages before the cover could shelter the note paper.

* * *

Machinery and air vents clinked mechanically in unison, serving as the only noise in a darkened, semi-domed shaped room. The shadowed, chilly room lined with ripped and faded red tapestry suddenly came to life when a blinding light lit up an enormous cracked television screen that encompassed a wall. The bright view silhouetted a bowing man clad in an onyx, violet-trimmed cloak that touched the bottom of the black floor, visually meshing with the darkness of the broken tiles. A blurred image began to take shape and dots of color on the screen matched up to one another. The crackle of auditory transmissions began.

"How's the experiment faring, Folken?" A digital voice buzzed with the accompanying visual screen of an old man's face.

"Perfectly, Lord Dornkirk, the Wing Goddess has had her memories and dreams exchanged. She also carries his child."

"Excellent Folken, we will need this child to continue our reign. This child must carry on Zaibach's greater good!"

"And what of Fanelia's king," Folken asked boldly, "Should we commence the plans?"

"Yes. Soon, very soon, all of Gaea will unite!" the old man yelled out with vigor, the transmission stopping a fraction of a second later.

The scene fell into darkness again, leaving the lone soul standing still while adjusting light maroon eyes to the shadows of Zaibach's mechanical hell. Surrounded by obsolete and damaged equipment, Folken allowed his pale lips to form a smile. _Perfectly._

* * *

"What's wrong Hitomi? I bought you your favorite." Asked Mrs. Kanzaki, her voice fringed with concern.

Hitomi continued to poke at her sushi with her chopsticks.

Mamoru glanced up after practically inhaling his ration of food. His brown eyes lingered on her food in a longing manner. She pushed her small plate towards him without looking up. "Thanks, sis!" the boy smiled and lifted a piece to his lips. He caught his mother's warning gaze before her could put the parcel into his mouth. With a stifled sigh, he placed the food back down.

"Why aren't you hungry? You've been sleeping all day, you need to eat, sweetie." The woman picked up the plate and put it back under Hitomi's nose. "Eat it." She commanded gently.

Green eyes glanced at the sushi and hesitantly her hands guided the chopsticks to it. She selected a random morsel and ate it with both of her family members watching.

"I'm sorry I called you a pig, you're not fat." Mamoru said after thinking about yesterday's spat.

"So that's what this is about?" laughed their mother. "Hitomi dear, your fine, just exercise a little. Get out of the house for once. If you were back in school you could run on the track team like you used to."

"No, mother, I am fat." Hitomi said and stuffed another piece of sushi quickly in her mouth, then pressed her lips together. For some reason, she felt an open mouth would betray her and utter her new discovery.

Mamoru leaned over in his chair to glance at Hitomi's stomach, "Yeah mom, she kind of is."

Hitomi put down her utensils and glared at Mamoru. Quickly she swallowed her chewed mouth full of food. "You just told me I wasn't a pig!"

"I said that to make you feel better, but now that you're admitting it…"

"No! Can you not make up your mind? First, you call me a pig, then you say I'm not, then you say I am…which is it?" Hitomi's voice was becoming shriller.

"Both of you need to calm down." Their mother said in a threatening tone.

"What? You can't honestly take her side mom! She's being such a moody bitch!" yelled back Mamoru.

Mrs. Kanzaki's eyes went up in shock, "Care to repeat that, Mamoru?"

The boy huffed and looked the other way, "Can I excuse myself?" he asked staring heatedly at the ground.

"No you cannot."

"Screw it!" Mamoru slide his chair back and started pacing to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" his mother stood up from her seat.

He rolled his eyes and slammed the door loudly to their apartment as he left.

"Mother, can I go lie down please?" asked Hitomi quietly as she cradled her head in her hands.

"Yes." The woman sat down as her daughter moved to her shared room. When the door shut behind her, it was Mrs. Kanzaki's turn to cradle her face in her hands. A few tears sprang loose. _Everything's falling apart. Why does it have to be so messed up?_

The telephone rang, interrupting her weeping. "Hello, Kanzaki residence." she answered, hiding any traces of her tear-stained face in her voice.

"Hi, is Hitomi home? I tried calling earlier, but no one picked up."

"Yukari, it's nice to hear from you again. She was probably sleeping, which is what she's doing now. She's been a little under the weather as of lately."

"Oh, well, can I come over and cheer her up later today?"

"Perhaps tomorrow would be better." suggested the woman as she glanced over at their messy apartment and caught a glimpse of her reflection in the hallway mirror.

"Ok, may I bring a friend, Ms. Kanzaki?"

"Of course, I'm sure that'll make her happy. Let me give you our directions…" After explaining the location of the building they said their good byes and hung up.

_I hope Yukari can get Hitomi to go outside. That would be nice._ The woman smiled and cleared the table. She loaded their dishwasher and sat back down at the table with a pack of tissues, pulling out a manila enveloped parcel. For a brief second her eyebrows furrowed together, _didn't Hitomi already talk to Yukari today?_ She looked across the hall at the shut door, wondering who she was speaking with earlier. Mrs. Kanzaki debated whether she should ask now or later. She chose the latter as she pulled out the residing forms, the divorce papers, from the envelope.


End file.
